The Cherry Blossom Tree
by Lady Fyria
Summary: It must have been karma that made him fall in love three times. Three times his heart broke. One was a sacrifice, one was unrequited, and another out to spill his blood. And yet he loved them until his last shred of sanity left him. Postwar. Title change.
1. Sacrifice

**Please note that all chapters occur at different times. The first chapter featuring a different woman in Zuko's life will be the 'present' and the next chapter will reflect on an important part in their history before moving ahead a few years to the next love-interest. Thank you, enjoy, and review!**

* * *

**The Sacrifice – Zuko and Arisu**

**Word Count: 752**

He inhaled deeply, preparing for the blow his sister was about to throw at him. He cleared his mind, thinking only of the steps he would need to do in order to redirect the lightening. He _had_ to defeat her. He was the only thing standing in the way of her and his two friends whom were hiding in the building behind him. There was no way that the two of them could take down his insane sibling.

No, it was just him.

In the same moment Azula released lightening from her fingertips, he noticed her eyes move to his right. She wasn't being discreet about it, like she wanted him to see. Knowing there was only one thing she could be looking at, he forced his feet to move, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to redirect it.

Then there was another blur of movement in the corner of his eye. A streak of red darted past, standing before him. Dread spread through him like fire and his eyes widened as he screamed, "_No!_"

But there was nothing he could do to stop her. Bright, blue lightening rippled through the air, and then there was a scream. A scream that would haunt his dreams forever.

The girl who had taken the hit fell. He let out a strangled yell a wild burst of flame erupting from his palm, a stream of water coming up from behind him to aid his attack on Azula. She barely missed Zuko's fire, but was slammed into by the water. She was thrown backwards, and Katara ran past him to finish the fight.

He fell to his knees beside the girl, cradling her small frame against his larger one. "Arisu," He whispered hoarsely, brushing her fiery red hair out of her face.

"Zuko," He felt her warm hand on his face, her thumb slowly and gently stroking his scar. "I'll miss you. But I'll see you again one day. That what makes me happy." A tear slid down her cheek, but there was a smile upon her face.

"Don't talk like that," he barely contained the exclamation from being vociferous, grabbing her hand and squeezing it until both of their hands were white. "You're going to be okay. You're going to live." He glanced at the wound just above her heart.

She laughed weakly. "We both know it's just the opposite. I'm not afraid of death. I've been surrounded by death since I was little," She tilted her head slightly, her eyes gaining a glassy and faraway shine. "Promise me, that when you become Fire Lord, you will end all that pain. I know you can't stop death altogether, but at least stop the deaths this war has caused. For me, please."

He knew she also meant her own death. "I promise," his voice cracked. "But you're not going to die. Katara will heal you!"

Her hand dropped to her side limply, energy quickly draining out of her. "Zuko, I'm going to die. This is my destiny…my destiny was to save you. I knew it all along. I didn't want you to get hurt. Why do you think I pushed you away for so long?"

"Because you didn't love me."

"Oh, Agni, Zuko! Don't be an idiot! Of course I loved you. I still do. It was hard not to, no matter how stupid, hot headed, or angry you got. I always loved you."

Her confession made it all that harder to let her go once and for all. He finally had her, and now he was losing her. "I won't let you die! There has to be a way."

"Will you stop that? Accept that this is happening. I'm _dying_, and there's nothing you can do to keep death away. Everyone dies at some point, and this is my time." There was a pause, and Arisu moved her head enough to look at Katara, who stood some feet away, Azula chained to the ground behind her. Tears were spilling out of her eyes and her hands covered her mouth.

"Katara, take care of him, will you? Make sure he moves on." Katara nodded vigorously.

Arisu's blue eyes stared into his. "Find Mai. Beg her to forgive you, and make her Fire Lady. She's the one you belong with, not me."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He pressed her lips against hers.

"Promise me one more thing,"

"Anything."

She took a ragged breath of air.

"Remember me."

And then she was gone.


	2. Dragonfly

**The Dragonfly – Zuko and Arisu **

**Word Count: 1,450**

_Two Years Later…_

He leaned against the railing, rotating the small object in hand left hand, running his fingers over every inch of its surfaces. Pricking his thumb with the point of the needle, he remembered the day he gave it to her. Her hair had been the color of the blood running down the crease in his palm, and her eyes, big and soulful like the moon. Oh, how he missed her.

He missed her so much.

It hurt.

* * *

**_X_**

_Zuko paced back and forth in the empty bedroom, feeling more guilty than he was willing to admit. Today was her birthday, and he felt ashamed that he had not gotten her anything. She had loved his Uncle's gift to her; a beautiful green kimono that fit her well, showing off her curves, but not showing off too much skin._

_As Uncle had given it to her this morning, she had immediately adorned it and had been showing her new outfit off around the_ Jasmine Dragon.

_He had already broken six cups today, all thanks to the men, both young and old, ogled at his friend. Every time some guy stared, he just felt angry, and then before he knew it, the cup he was carrying was gone and hot liquid seeped through his hand, pieces of porcelain digging into his skin._

_He just didn't know why he felt so mad. So…_

…_Jealous._

_He knew he had to get her something, but what?_

_Then a memory came to mind; it had been their day off and she had somehow tricked him into coming with her to shop._

* * *

**_XX_**

"_Oh, c'mon Zuko! Be a teenager for once and have some fun!" The blue eyes that gazed into his gold ones sparkled with happiness, but he also saw the annoyance at his stubbornness._

"_Shopping isn't _fun_. Only girls go shopping for fun."_

"_Stop being a sour puss! Just come with me, please?" She tugged on his hand in the direction of the market._

_A few moments passed before he sighed and said, "Fine."_

"_Yes! Thank you." Suddenly she was pressed against him, her arms wrapped around his waist. For a second he didn't move, tempted to hug her back, but then he pealed her off of him._

_Zuko stalked off towards the markets, awhile muttering, "Let's just get this over with."_

_He saw a genuine smile on her face as she skipped past him, her bubbly façade almost fooling him. Right now she was happy, for the most part, but he had seen the side of her that was just the opposite._

_They skimmed through the shops, Arisu occasionally lighting up with joy when she found something she fancied._

_Eventually Zuko realized everything he was carrying that was dragging him down and he was quickly losing circulation in his arms and fingers. "Are you done yet?"_

"_Almost," she replied, walking to a jewelry shop. Zuko trailed after her, trying to balance all the goods on his arms._

_Arisu conversed politely with an elderly woman who was selling the accessories. He set down the objects he carried and stretched his limbs, watching her intently look at the jewels._

_She wore a different kimono than the one Uncle gave her, much to his relief, and had one hand behind her back and another touching the jewelry. He continued to watch her every move as she held up necklaces and earrings and many other trinkets, none of them satisfying her._

_Finally he tore his gaze away from her to look at the items. None of these were good enough for her. If he wasn't banished he could give her what she deserved._

_What was he saying? Arisu was just another water tribe peasant that was pretty, smart, and could make him do or feel things he would've done or felt before. She was maddening sometimes, but at most she was the bright light at the end of a dark tunnel. She was clumsy and had two left feet, but that made her amusing and fun to be around._

_He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He couldn't possibly like her like that! She was below him, there was no way they could ever be together. Even if he did like her, she would never like him. She only loved him like a brother…right?_

_He was broken out of his reverie by an excited exclamation from the center of his dilemma. In her hand was a little silver dragonfly embedded with sapphires and tiny diamonds. Apparently it was a hair ornament, for Arisu pinned it into where the ribbon she used to tie her hair back was knotted._

_Now that dragonfly was good enough for her._

"_How much for it?" Arisu asked._

"_Eight gold pieces." That was more than their combined pay, well, he had a little more than eight gold pieces worth total at the moment but Arisu had just spent most of her savings._

_Arisu gasped, taking the jeweled insect out of her hair and putting it back hastily as if it burned her._

"_I'm sorry," the old woman apologized, seemingly sincere. "I would love to give it to you, but I can't afford to make the price any lower." _

_Arisu nodded in understanding and took some of what was remaining of her purchased trinkets from on the ground and walked back to our home, the skip no longer in her step._

* * *

**_X_**

_That's it!_

_He stopped pacing and raced out of the home, pushing past people in an effort to get to the jewelry stand before someone was able to buy it._

_The item he sought for was gone._

_The old woman squinted her eyes. "You're the young man that was here with the red haired girl a few days ago, aren't you?" He nodded. The lady reached into her sleeve, and then, pulling it out, she opened her hand to reveal the jeweled dragonfly. "I had a feeling you'd be back."_

_Quickly he exchanged the dragonfly for the gold coins and sprinted back._

_Zuko found Arisu gently brushing her hair in her room, dressed for bed. She kneeled in front of a mirror and her back was to him. When he walked in she was tugging fiercely at a knot._

"_Here," He pried the brush from her small hands and brushed out the knot. He weaved her hair into her custom bun and pinned in the dragonfly._

_He stood, "Goodnight." Hurriedly, he left the room._

_Zuko cracked open the door so he could peek in to see her reaction. He saw her reach up and her eyes widen when she had found the dragonfly. And then she turned and smiled._

_Embarrassed, he shut the door and left._

_The next morning she nearly squeezed the life out of him, constantly thanking him as Uncle looked on approvingly. But in the end, just before they had to leave for work, she pressed her lips to his._

_As fast as the kiss came, it was gone._

* * *

_And now so is she,_ Zuko thought, closing his hand around the dragonfly.

"Zuko, are you coming to bed?"

For a moment, he believed it was _her_ that called out to him. That it was _her_ that was his Fire Lady. That it was _her_ that was pregnant with his child.

But that was just a dream. A fantasy. Arisu was dead. Buried under the cherry blossom tree she loved in the tiny village where she was born.

He turned and saw his wife, Mai, hands resting on her enlarged stomach. Concern was etched onto her face.

"Yeah. Give me another minute." He answered, and Mai disappeared from the balcony.

He looked up at the moon; Yue had promised him she would take care of Arisu, and somehow he knew she had fulfilled her promise.

"I love you Arisu," he whispered. "And I remember you."

He threw the dragonfly as high as he could at the moon.

It never landed.

* * *

In the Spirit World Temple was a room. Except it wasn't a room. Yes, there was a door, but there were no walls. There was also a window, but it was a circle, thirty times as large as a human. Out of this 'window' you could see the entire world, but you can only see out of it at night. It was entirely black inside this 'room', and there were two dwellers.

A white-haired woman stood next to her redheaded friend, the two of them gazing out of the large window that was the moon.

Arisu held her prized possession over her heart in both hands. She then pinned the dragonfly into her bun. She smiled at Zuko though he could not see her.

"We will be together again one day, my love."


	3. Unrequited

**The Unrequited – Zuko and Feng**

**Word Count: 597**

"You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?"

Her body, broken and battered, was held in his arms. Her long, wavy, flaxen hair curled about her face and pooled on the ground. Her dark brown eyes gazed at him lovingly through the pain that clouded them. Cuts and bruises marred her otherwise beautiful face, blood dripping from her nose and mouth, a fresh welt on her lip. Someone as pretty as she did not deserve the filthy rags she was robed in; rather, she was worthy of a throne made of gold encrusted with gems, to wear fine silk and expensive jewelry.

Yet here she was, dying in his arms.

Gingerly, he touched the rose blooming on her abdomen and upon her wince he yanked his hand away. The wound there was deep, possibly going all the way through her. The blood staining their clothes more than likely proved it. There was so much of it. Too much of it. And the smell made him nauseous.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Zuko. This was my job."

Around them, dozens of Fire Nation soldiers and Rebels lay, dead. The once well cared for garden was torn and bloodstained, the pond red and the turtleducks nowhere in sight. To their right was the head Rebel, Feng's tanto knife embedded deep in his skull.

"You're going to live."

"I know. This damn wound isn't fatal enough to kill. But, Zuko…I _want_ to die. I can't do this anymore."

He stared at her, shocked. "What do you mean by that?"

An ethereal smile spread on her lips. "I know why you hired me as your bodyguard, my dear Fire Lord. I remind you, somehow, of her. Your old love, Arisu. And now I know for sure we definitely have one thing in common— we both have given our lives for you."

A sob ripped through him then, the first he'd cried since seven years ago when _she_ died. "Feng…"

"I knew it. I knew it was true." Her head went slack against the arm that supported it, and for a moment he feared that she was gone. The ruby phoenix in her hair glowed softly in the dimming sunlight. He cradled her to his body, burying his face into her neck. "Oh Agni."

"I'm not dead yet, you Baka." His ear tickled as her breath brushed against it. "I always said you were going to be the death of me." Her eyes sparkled humorously.

He was alarmed when that sparkle faded not a few second later. "And you will be." Her hand slowly rose from where it laid limp at her side, bringing up a knife in her shaking hand. "I want you to kill me, Zuko. I can't do this anymore. Neither can you." She forced the blade into his hand, squeezing his fingers around it painfully. "I don't love you, and you love me too much."

Fury flickered in him for a moment, persuading him to growl out, "Your husband is dead."

"So he is. I am reminded every day." She stared at him, solemn but expressive before raising her eyes to the grey sky. "Real love never fades in death. Somewhere up there, my husband is waiting for me. Just like Arisu is waiting for you."

His tears dripped onto the knife as Feng moved the tip to her neck. "Please Zuko. Do this for me."

Hardening himself against his emotions, he gripped the knife more firmly. A smile returned to her lips; a soft, peace-found smile. "Thank you."

He slashed her throat.

Her smile never faded.


	4. Phoenix

**The Phoenix – Zuko and Feng**

**Word Count: 765**

"Another round on me, boys!"

The strange woman with the strange light-colored hair raised her pint of fire whiskey and knocked it all back. The men around her cheered her on, accepting the alcohol that she had now paid for them.

The man sitting on the barstool beside Zuko shook his head. "That's my wife…she's always denying that she gets like that when she's drunk off her wits, and she wonders why we're always short on money."

Zuko kept his eyes on the woman who was now arm wrestling a very large and beefy man…and winning. "Is that why you asked to live in the palace? Not to live as my live-in bodyguard too?" He inquired with a tone of humor.

Jengo snorted and sipped his drink. "I only work for you when you decide you want to be suicidal and leave the palace. I'm just lucky I managed to get you to wear that hood, or we'd have been attacked by now."

"I can take care of myself," Zuko muttered uselessly. They'd had this argument more times than he cared to remember. "It's you people who seem to think I can't."

"Oh, I know you can," Jengo responded. "I've seen you train. You've only gotten better since the war ended. But my being here keeps your council from hounding you about being foolish."

"And I owe you much for that, my friend," and they clinked their glasses together. Jengo's wife came sauntering over to them at that moment, wrapping her arms around her husband's neck and planting a sloppy kiss on his lips. Jealousy spun in Zuko's stomach, whether in mourning of Arisu or because his friend was able to have such a beautiful woman, was not known to him.

"Feng, love, you need to hold back on your drinking habits." Jengo chided gently, caressing her cheek with his hand. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"Are you asking me to stop drinking when I know that my amazing husband is leaving me for Agni-knows-how-long, just so he can possibly get killed from protecting our stupid Fire Lord," here Feng paused for a moment to glare at Zuko. "Over in the Earth Kingdom? I hope for your sake that you are not. But I'll be missing you anyhow. I'll see you again one day—you promised. That what makes me happy, I suppose." She leaned forward, touching her forehead to Jengo's, and poking his armored chest. "Besides, I ain't afraid of death. In fact, I welcome it."

The doors to the bar slammed open. Glasses broke. People screamed.

An arrow flew through the air.

Zuko watched as Jengo pushed his wife aside, and that very arrow buried itself inside the man's heart.

With shock running through him, he saw Feng's mouth open to scream in horror as her husband's body fell to the ground. He saw the life fade from his friend's eyes. He saw her collapse, sobbing onto Jengo's chest, and not move.

Zuko barely turned in time to dodge the furious swipes of an attacking Rebel before grabbing the man's wrists and twisting them until the knives were dropped. A swift kick to the stomach sent the scrawny rebel flying across the room.

When the young Fire Lord looked down again, Feng was drawing Jengo's favored tanto knife from its sheath, murderous revenge gleaming in her eyes. She stood, staring at the archer that had killed her beloved husband. And like a phoenix taking flight, she leapt across the room, embedding the knife in the man.

Finally coming out of his stunned stupor, Zuko began to fight, his own fury from the loss of his friend encouraging the madness. The attack was spread out over the entire village, and Zuko ran for the highest point: the hill with the tree where Arisu was buried. Yet every time he found a target, Feng always seemed to appear, killing the rebel before Zuko could land a single blow.

As quickly as it started, the attack was over. Feng stood in the middle of it all, the tanto knife bloodstained from tip to hilt. She dropped the body of the last rebel, and then her gaze snapped to his. Her eyes held no hint of remorse. There were hardly any emotions at all in the dark depths of her eyes.

She approached him, stalking up the side of the hill until she stood before him. It was then he could see her body shaking and the single tear that threatened to spill. Abruptly she dropped to one knee, creating a fist over her heart.

"My liege."


	5. Liberator

**_One more to write and this short story will be finished! Thank you all! Note: Riida means leader in Japanese. If you have any questions feell free to message me._**

* * *

**The Liberator - Zuko and Michiko**

**Word Count: 2,459**

He had been sitting in the shade of their tree when the messenger sprinted up the hill, panting and waving an envelope like mad. Zuko sighed as he watched the little man, running a hand through his greying hair. His council was pestering him greatly these days, now that his only heir had died and he had no wife to try again after she had run away years ago.

"My Lord, a most urgent message!" said the little man. "From the rebels!"

This declaration spiked Zuko's interest, and took the paper from the little man's outstretched hand.

_We have a proposition._

_Be at the city docks at sunset._

_Come alone._

…

_Down with the Fire Lord!_

There was no signature but the little design of the rebels' logo at the bottom right corner. He traced absentmindedly, the face of the person he knew had written this note in the front of his mind. "Prepare an escort," he announced. "I will meet them."

Truth was… he had been waiting for this meeting for years.

* * *

He glared down the length of his nose at the soldier sitting in the driver's seat of the prototype car that was a most expensive gift from the Earth King. The soldiers within the car glanced nervously amongst each other.

"I will not say it again. Get. Out."

The soldier scrambled out of the seat and into the back, and Zuko slipped right in, starting the car and slamming his foot onto the petal. Swirls of reds and ambers swept past him in blurs, and he ignored the sounds of one of his soldiers retching out the side of the car. One last turn with knocking a few crates over and he sped towards the docks. He switched his foot to the brakes and stomped on it, all of his soldiers lurching forward and gasping as Zuko turned the steering wheel sharply, the back tires skidding around until the car stopped in perfect parallel parking.

His soldiers all but ran from the car, kissing the ground and thanking Agni for being alive. Zuko, however, flung the door open angrily and cast a discriminating glance over them before quickly leaving them, approaching the three people standing on the docks.

His golden eyes were attached to the young girl standing between the two much taller men guarding her, regarding her with tenderness, and the corner of his mouth twitched as he watched her grow uneasy.

"Fire Lord Zuko," she said, stepping forward and raising her chin. "I see you have decided to grace us with your presence."

"I use any excuse to escape my harassing Council. So do take as long as you want with your proposition."

She was annoyed at this, he could tell, and resisted the sudden urge to grin. But he had to say he was impressed by the control over her emotions for a girl as young as she.

"Your father would be proud of you, Michiko."

Her charcoal eyes widened before slanting into a glare again, trying her hide her confusion about how he knew her name. "You can't know that, you didn't know him. In fact, you were the one who _killed_ him five years ago."

"Actually, it was my bodyguard, and my bodyguard was only doing her job in protecting me."

"Silence!" she snarled. "You don't know anything, you crazy old man!"

He nodded sagely; it was true that he was indeed crazy, but that did not mean he couldn't think. "Ah, but I do know _you_, Michi."

Michiko gasped and staggered back, in which Zuko responded by taking a step forward, and her escorts extended their spears to keep him from getting any closer to their leader.

"I know that you, like me, lost your mother at a young age and always strived to have your father's attention and pride. However, he nearly disowned you when he discovered you couldn't firebend, but to hide that, he dressed you up like a boy and sent you to train at the very prestigious Young Acolyte Military Academy for boys. You excelled there, quickly reaching the status of the top student. You graduated early and spent two years in service before your father pulled you out and made you assist him in the rebellion. When your father was killed in my gardens five years ago, you, as his successor, took over and led more successful attempts on wreaking havoc on my empire. And you stand here today with an overwhelming confidence because you have your entire army surrounding this area, ready to attack with the five soldiers that accompanied me here being held hostage. You think I am stupid for coming out here unprotected and you know that your father's dream will finally come true, that you can finally avenge his death."

He took another step toward her, barely noticing the spears' tips digging into his shoulder and chest. But he knew they would not kill him; he knew that Michiko wanted that honor for herself. "But I also know, that you hate the taste of fire-whiskey but you drink it anyway because it makes you feel strong, powerful, and more like your father. You hate spicy foods and like treacle tarts because they remind you of the ones your mother used to make. Being near the water calms you and is why you chose this spot to meet. You are very ticklish on your sides and you have three soft spots—one on the back of your left knee, the conjunctions where your neck meets your shoulders and the spot behind your right ear. And finally, I know that no matter how much you say you don't, you _love_ losing control."

"No,"she whispered, shaking her head and continuing to walk backwards. "It's not you. It can't be you. You're not my Keiji! My Keiji is not a monster! He's not _you_!"

"_Riida—"_ One her escorts started, but she cut him off, whirling around with fury in her eyes.

"Both of you get out of here. I can do this on my own. Go _now_ or I will kill you myself!"

The two fled from the docks, but not before brushing shoulders with Zuko and spitting at him. Wiping the saliva from his face, he smiled at the young woman trying to avoid his adoring gaze. "It is me, Michi. How else would I know so much about you?"

She turned her body to face him, ebony hair untamed and curling around her face. She stared into his face but not into his eyes. "You hired someone," she hissed. "You hired him to make me fall in love with him and tell him everything."

"While that idea is plausible and I am happy to know that you love me, you never did tell me anything more than 'The Fire Lord will not be very happy today' or something of the sort. I'd go back to the palace and find that my ships had been pirated or an official kidnapped and tortured."

He watched her hide her panic, searching for something—anything at all—that would disprove his claim. "My Keiji is young, only a little older than me. You're almost two decades older."

Zuko chuckled. "The benefits of stage makeup and meeting after dark, my love. Is there anything else you can think of?"

"For my twenty-fourth birthday, what did my Keiji give to me?" She asked him.

"I believe the question is what you gave me," he chuckled as she blushed fiercely while still maintaining her glare. "I gave you a silver turtle encrusted with emeralds. The turtle symbolizes strength, order, and longevity. And there is now a new meaning for it: motherhood."

She didn't say anything, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. He knew he finally had cornered her. "How did you know?"

"I noticed that the last time we met you had gained a bit of weight."

Then Michiko looked as if she wanted to hit him, but didn't. Zuko took the opportunity to reach out and caress her tummy lovingly. "Sometimes I wonder if your killing of my heir was because of your frustration of becoming a mother yourself."

A warm hand snatched his wrist and yanked it away, twisting it the way it shouldn't be able to. "You will die today," she said to him, a mixture of hate and pain in her eyes, retrieving a knife from her side.

Feng's tanto knife.

The knife that had killed Michiko's father.

Now the one that would kill him.

Zuko smiled at her again, one filled with sorrow, grabbing the hand gripping the knife and helping it rise to his heart. "I know. I've been waiting for this day since Arisu died."

She looked into his eyes from under her lashes. "Thirty years is a long time to wait for death."

"He who can have patience can have what he wills," he responded. "I want to die; I am not fit to rule as you and your rebels have so subtly pointed out. Instead of restoring my nation, I've sent it into further ruin. Every woman I've ever loved I couldn't have, and because of that, I've lost my mind. Just think of how much more my Council would harass me if they knew a crazy person is ruling their nation? I'd end up locked in a cell like my sister." He laughed, cheerily, and she looked at him strangely, trying to find the man she had fallen in love with. "Katara was right; crazy does run in my family."

It was then Michiko realized that he really was insane. He had spent so many years obsessing over three women, trying to rule a battered and torn nation while keeping up a false image, trying to keep the Rebellion under control along with stopping another international war from starting again. And all the while wishing for death. It was no wonder that he had fallen in love with his bodyguard. They were more alike than anyone realized.

He stopped laughing abruptly, suddenly turning serious as he whispered to her, "But I found a way. I found a way to make it all better…for everyone. I die and you become Fire Lord."

She ripped away from him, dropping the knife. "What! Are you—" she cut herself off, remembering that he really was crazy. Instead she continued, "Why take such measures? Why _me_?"

"I can't bear living any longer, Michiko. The only reason I've lasted this long was because I met you, and well, the process had started all over again. I fancied myself in love with you, and then I formed a plan. With you as Fire Lord, our nation will flourish like never before. It will be a golden age. Then when our child becomes of age, she will continue that era. Together, the two of you will bring our nation to the height of power that no one has ever seen before. So kill me, Michi, and help my dreams—our dreams of making this world a better place for our child come true."

She shook her head, pitying the man before her. "Kei—Zuko…I can't. I-I—"

Once again his whole demeanor changed, and his insanity finally came out in his expression. He walked toward her, scooping up the dropped knife and thrusting it back into her hand. He gripped her shoulders and shook her roughly. His voice was low and cruel, his golden eyes shining with a sort of desperation and anger. "Yes, you can. You've been thinking about this day for years, and now that it's here, you won't do it? What would your father say? I bet he'd be so ashamed of his little, non-firebending girl. He probably would be wishing that he did kill you all those years ago. Maybe if he did, he'd have had a son who could kill me instead of a weak, pathetic girl. And your mother! She is probably happy that she died so she didn't have to live with the disappointment—_argh_!"

When the tears were blinked away, she saw the knife implanted in his heart, blood oozing out at an alarming rate. He too looked up from the wound and met her eyes, smiling at her weakly before his eyes rolled into the back of his and he collapsed. Michiko caught him as he fell, and lowered him slowly. By the time he was on the ground, she knew he was dead.

Around her, her rebels melted out of their hiding places, cheering and hollering in their victory.

* * *

_Years Later..._

Late in the night, two people materialized in the moonlight. One a tall, dark haired male and the other a short, light haired female, they were holding each other hands like they never wanted to let go. In the red and gold decorated bed, a young woman slept soundly in the arms of her husband.

Nearby, a crib.

The couple walked without a sound to the little bed where the baby slept and peered down at the little boy. As if he sensed someone watching him, the baby opened his eyes and gurgled, reaching up with pudgy hands at the two glowing people. They smiled at him.

The door to the royal chamber opened with a small creak, and an older woman stepped through. She froze, however, when she saw the couple staring at her expressionlessly, until the male smiled brightly at her, and she fought not to gasp.

"Zuko," she breathed. Glancing at her daughter and son-in-law, she scurried forward and tried to hug her past love, but fell right through his form. Startled, she whirled around and saw them smiling understandingly. Ghosts. She took a breath and calmed herself of her embarrassment and moved to the crib. She picked up her grandson and rocked him, letting the child chew on her finger with toothless gums. "He's named after your uncle, as I'm sure you know. Our daughter hopes that he will be just like the great Dragon of the West."

She turned to look at them only to see just Zuko standing there, Arisu nowhere in sight. He was smiling at her gently, and pointed at the emerald ornament in her hair.

Blushing, she looked away for a moment but her gaze went back to his but this time he was smirking knowingly. Sending him a mocking glare at him, she glided out to the open balcony, closing her eyes and letting the warm summer breeze blow over her.

Opening her eyes, she stared into the dark waters of the lake, little pink flowers falling gracefully from the tree on the hill. "You were right, you know. Your plan went exactly as you wanted it to. Admittedly, I had to... _alleviate_ a majority of the Council, but everything got better. It really did."


End file.
